CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS: From Obama, a call for patience

This article was written by Blake Ursch based on reporting from The Associated Press.

Perseverance was the theme of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night. Both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged that the country was still in dire economic conditions, but they expressed hope that things would get better if given they were given time and support.

Obama's speech

In his speech, President Obama asked Americans to stick with him and give him more time to manage the economic problem that remains after his first term. "The truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades," the president said.

Obama also attacked the Romney campaign for criticizing his administration without offering viable solutions to America's problems. The Republicans, he charged, plan to use a tired strategy of tax cuts to solve the deficit problem.

At the convention

It was a star-studded night in Charlotte, as celebrities such as James Taylor, Scarlett Johansson, Jon Hamm and Eva Longoria showed their support for President Obama. Johansson and Longoria both took the stage to speak to the assembled crowd.

Longoria expressed her concern that Mitt Romney would raise taxes for the middle class. She used herself as a before-and-after example of the tension between the 99 and the 1 percent. "The Eva Longoria who worked at Wendy's flipping burgers — she needed a tax break. But the Eva Longoria who works on a movie set does not," she said.

The Republicans' view

At a pit stop visiting veterans during a drive to his New Hampshire lake estate, Mitt Romney told reporters that he would likely not watch Obama's convention address, because he didn't want to see the president speak about "a series of new promises that he's not going to keep."

Romney also defended himself against criticism for not mentioning the war in Afghanistan in his convention speech last week, saying that he expressed support for the armed forces with a speech at the American Legion the night before.